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Man Caves That Aren’t for Cave Men

The humble sanctuary of the man of the house gets a luxury makeover

The man cave has come to represent the quintessential guy sanctuary. But a growing number of men are opting for anti-caves of a sort – male retreats with a sophisticated twist. Photo: Claudio Papapietro for The Wall Street Journal

By

Adam Bonislawski

March 19, 2015 12:02 p.m. ET

If men, as comedian Rita Rudner once quipped, are just “bears with furniture,” then it’s only fitting that the man cave came to represent the quintessential guy sanctuary.

The formula traditionally has been a simple one: take an empty garage or basement, add a leather sofa, a big-screen TV, perhaps a humidor, maybe a vintage beer sign or two,...